United States Senate elections, 1920

November 2, 1920

34 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats were needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	Henry Cabot Lodge	Oscar Underwood
Party	Republican	Democratic
Leader's seat	Massachusetts	Alabama
Last election	49 seats	47 seats
Seats won	59	37
Seat change	10	10

Republican holds

Republican pickups

Democratic holds

Majority Leader before election

Boies Penrose
Republican

Elected Majority Leader

Henry Cabot Lodge
Republican

The United States Senate elections of 1920 were elections for the United States Senate which coincided with the election of Warren G. Harding as President. Democrat Woodrow Wilson's unpopularity allowed Republicans to win races across the country, winning ten seats from the Democrats, providing them with an overwhelming 59 to 37 majority. The Republican landslide was so vast that the Democrats failed to win a single race outside the South.

Seat changes 1
- Open seats 1.1
- Incumbents defeated 1.2
Change in Senate composition 2
Complete list of races 3
See also 4
References 5

Seat changes

Republicans won two seats that were open from retiring Democrats, one seat from a Democrat who had lost renomination, and they defeated seven Democratic incumbents.

Open seats

Lawrence Y. Sherman (Illinois) retired; replaced by William B. McKinley (R)
Charles S. Thomas (Colorado) retired; replaced by Samuel D. Nicholson (R)

Incumbents defeated

John C. W. Beckham (Kentucky) lost re-election; replaced by Richard P. Ernst (R)
Robert N. Stanfield (R)
Thomas P. Gore (Oklahoma) lost renomination; replaced by John W. Harreld (R)
Charles B. Henderson (Nevada) lost re-election; replaced by Tasker L. Oddie (R)
John F. Nugent (Idaho) lost re-election; replaced by Frank R. Gooding (R)
James D. Phelan (California) lost re-election; replaced by Samuel M. Shortridge (R)
John W. Smith (Maryland) lost re-election; replaced by Ovington E. Weller (R)
Marcus A. Smith (Arizona) lost re-election; replaced by Ralph H. Cameron (R)

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections
D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

In the next Congress
D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Key:

D	=Democratic
R	=Republican

Majority

divider

Complete list of races

Bold state indicated election article link. Bold candidate indicates winner.

State	Incumbent	Party	Result	Opposing Candidates
Alabama Special: Class 2	Braxton B. Comer	Democratic	Appointee retired Democratic hold	J. Thomas Heflin (Democratic), 69.3% C. P. Lunsford (Republican), 29.5% W. H. Chichester(Socialist), 1.2%
Alabama General: Class 3	Oscar W. Underwood	Democratic	Re-elected	Oscar W. Underwood (Democratic), 66.% L. H. Reynolds (Republican), 33.1% A. M. Forsman(Socialist), 0.8%
Arizona	Marcus A. Smith	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Ralph H. Cameron (Republican), 55.2% Marcus A. Smith (Democratic), 44.8%
Arkansas	William F. Kirby	Democratic	Lost renomination Democratic hold	Thaddeus H. Caraway (Democratic), 65.9% Charles F. Cole (Republican), 34.1%
California	James D. Phelan	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Samuel M. Shortridge (Republican), 49.0% James D. Phelan (Democratic), 40.7% James S. Edwards (Prohibition), 6.3% Elvina S. Beals(Socialist), 4.0%
Colorado	Charles S. Thomas	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Samuel D. Nicholson (Republican), 54.5% Tully Scot (Democratic), 39.3% G. F. Stevens (Farmer–Labor), 3.1% Charles S. Thomas (National), 3.0%
Connecticut	Frank B. Brandegee	Republican	Re-elected	Frank B. Brandegee (Republican), 59.3% Augustine Lonergan (Democratic), 36.1% Martin F. Plunkett (Socialist), 2.8% Emil L. G. Hohenthal (Prohibition Party), 0.8% Josephine B. Bennett (Farmer–Labor), 0.6% Charles J. Backofen (Socialist-labor), 0.4%
Florida	Duncan U. Fletcher	Democratic	Re-elected	Duncan U. Fletcher (Democratic), 69.5% John M. Cheney (Republican), 26.0% M.J. Martin(Socialist), 2.5% G. A. Klock (Republican-White), 2.0%
Georgia	Hoke Smith	Democratic	Lost renomination Democratic hold	Thomas E. Watson (Democratic), 94.9% Harvey S. Edwards (Independent), 5.1%
Idaho	John F. Nugent	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Frank R. Gooding (Republican), 54.1% John F. Nugent (Democratic), 45.9%
Illinois	Lawrence Y. Sherman	Republican	Retired Republican hold	William B. McKinley (Republican), 66.8% Peter A. Waller (Democratic), 26.8% Gustave T Fraenckel (Socialist), 3.2% John Fitzpatrick (Farmer–Labor), 2.4% Frank B Vennum (Prohibition), 0.5% Joseph B Moody(Socialist-labor), 0.15%
Indiana	James E. Watson	Republican	Re-elected	James E. Watson (Republican), 54.6% Thomas Taggart (Democratic), 41.1% Francis M Wampler (Socialist), 1.9% Francis J Dillon (Farmer–Labor), 1.3% Oulla Bayhinger (Prohibition), 1.1%
Iowa	Albert B. Cummins	Republican	Re-elected	Albert B. Cummins (Republican), 61.4% Claude R. Porter (Democratic), 37.4% H. W. Cowles (Farmer–Labor), 1.0% Arthur S. Dowler (Socialist-labor), 0.1%
Kansas	Charles Curtis	Republican	Re-elected	Charles Curtis (Republican), 64.0% George H. Hodges (Democratic), 33.4% Dan Beedy(Socialist), 2.6%
Kentucky	John C. W. Beckham	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Richard P. Ernst (Republican), 50.3% John C. W. Beckham (Democratic), 49.7%
Louisiana	Edward J. Gay	Democratic	Retired Democratic hold	Edwin S. Broussard (Democratic), unopposed
Maryland	John W. Smith	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Ovington E. Weller (Republican), 47.3% John W. Smith (Democratic), 43.3% G. D. Iverson Jr. (Independent), 5.4% William A. Toole (Socialist), 1.7% William A. Hawkins (Independent), 1.7% Frank N. H. Lang (Labor), 0.6%
Missouri	Selden P. Spencer	Republican	Re-elected	Selden P. Spencer (Republican), 53.7% Breckenridge Long (Democratic), 44.5%
Nevada	Charles B. Henderson	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Tasker L. Oddie (Republican), 42.1% Charles B. Henderson (Democratic), 37.9% Anne Martin (Independent), 18.2%
New Hampshire	George H. Moses	Republican	Re-elected	George H. Moses (Republican), 57.7% Raymond B. Stevens (Democratic), 41.6% William H. Wilkins(Socialist), 0.6%
New York^[1]	James W. Wadsworth, Jr.	Republican	Re-elected	James W. Wadsworth, Jr. (Republican) 52.4% (1,431,347) Harry C. Walker (Democratic) 32.9% (885,061) Ella A. Boole (Prohibition) 7.8% (159,477) Jacob Panken (Socialist) 5.8% (151,246) Rose Schneiderman (Farmer–Labor) 15,086 Harry Carlson (Socialist Labor) 6,522
North Carolina	Lee S. Overman	Democratic	Re-elected	Lee S. Overman (Democratic), 57.5% A. E. Holton (Republican), 42.5%
North Dakota	Asle J. Gronna	Republican	Lost renomination Republican hold	Edwin F. Ladd (Republican), 59.8% H. H. Perry (Democratic), 40.2%
Ohio	Warren G. Harding	Republican	Retired Republican hold	Frank B. Willis (Republican), 59.1% William Alexander Julian (Democratic), 40.8%
Oklahoma	Thomas P. Gore	Democratic	Lost renomination Republican gain	John W. Harreld (Republican), 50.6% Scott Ferris (Democratic), 44.5% A. A. Bagwell (Socialist), 4.8%
Oregon	George E. Chamberlain	Democratic	Lost re-election Republican gain	Robert N. Stanfield (Republican), 50.7% George E. Chamberlain (Democratic), 43.5%
Pennsylvania	Boies Penrose	Republican	Re-elected	Boies Penrose (Republican), 59.9% John A. Farrell (Democratic), 27.2% Leah C. Marion (Prohibition), 7.4%
South Carolina	Ellison D. Smith	Democratic	Re-elected	Ellison D. Smith (Democratic), unopposed
South Dakota	Edwin S. Johnson	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Peter Norbeck (Republican), 50.1% Tom Ayres (Independent), 24.1% U. S. G. Cherry (Democratic), 20.0% Richard Olsen Richards (Independent), 5.5%
Utah	Reed Smoot	Republican	Re-elected	Reed Smoot (Republican), 56.6% Milton H. Welling (Democratic), 38.5% J. Alex Beven (Socialist Farmer Labor), 4.9%
Vermont	William P. Dillingham	Republican	Re-elected	William P. Dillingham (Republican), 78.0% Howard E. Shaw (Democratic), 21.9%
Virginia Special: Class 2	Carter Glass	Democratic	Appointee elected to finish term	Carter Glass (Democratic), 91.3% J. R. Pollard (Republican), 8.7%
Washington	Wesley L. Jones	Republican	Re-elected	Wesley L. Jones (Republican), 56.4% C. L. France (Farmer–Labor), 25.4% George F. Cotterill (Democratic), 17.8%
Wisconsin	Irvine L. Lenroot	Republican	Re-elected	Irvine L. Lenroot (Republican), 41.6% James Thompson (Independent), 34.7% Paul S. Reinsch (Democratic), 13.2% Frank J. Weber (Socialist), 9.8% Clyde D. Mead (Prohibition), 0.8%

References

United States Senate elections

1788/89 1790/91 1792/93 1794/95 1796/97 1798/99 1800/01 1802/03 1804/05 1806/07 1808/09 1810/11 1812/13 1814/15 1816/17 1818/19 1820/21 1822/23 1824/25 1826/27 1828/29 1830/31 1832/33 1834 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912/13 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

Special elections Election disputes Results by state List of elections in the United States

United States Senate elections, 1920